Excerpts from the federal complaint against Keith Raniere

Read portions of the U.S. attorney general's 25-page document.

Sarah Edmondson shows the brand she received as part of a secret sorority ritual while part of the self-help group Nxivm, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 27, 2017. Edmondson, who has left the group, and other former followers of Keith Raniere, the leader of the group, said they were focusing on recovering. ?"There is no playbook for leaving a cult,?" Edmondson said. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT175

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The federal complaint filed against NXIVM co-founder Keith Raniere charges him with multiple counts of sex trafficking and forced labor.

Below are excerpts from the 25-page document lodged by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District.

"In or about 1998, the defendant KEITH RANIERE, also known as "The Vanguard," founded Executive Success Programs, Inc. ("ESP"), a series of workshops designed, according to its promotional literature, to "actualize human potential." In or about 2003, RANIERE founded an organization called Nxivm (pronounced NEX-i-um), which served as an umbrella organization for ESP and other RANIERE-affiliated entities."

Federal complaint against Keith Raniere and NXIVM

Participants paid up to $5,000 for courses and were encouraged to recruit others and keep attending classes to reach certain "goal levels." Members wore colored sashes marking the level they had attained. "Many Nxians find themselves in debt from the courses they are required to take, and some are obliged to take jobs working for Nxivm in order to continue taking courses and ostensibly to pay off their debts," the complaint said.

"Nxivm maintains features of a multilevel marketing scheme, commonly known as a pyramid scheme, in which members are recruited via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme. RANIERE formerly ran a multilevel marketing scheme called Consumers Buyline, which was forced to close after a settlement with the New York Attorney General in 1997, approximately one year before ESP was founded."

Raniere maintained a rotating group of 15 to 20 women with whom he had sexual relations, according to the complaint. The women were not permitted to have sexual relations with anyone except him.

Around 2015, a secret society was developed within NXIVM called "DOS" or the "Vow," the complaint said.

"DOS operates as a pyramid with levels of "slaves" headed by "masters." Slaves are expected to recruit slaves of their own (thus becoming masters themselves), who in turn owe service not only to their own masters but also to masters above them in the DOS pyramid."

DOS targeted women who were having problems in their lives and were dissatisfied with their speed of progress within NXIVM, according to the complaint. The women were required to provide collateral of sexually explicit photographs of themselves and videos of themselves telling damaging stories about themselves or family members.

"Prospective slaves who agreed to join DOS were told that in order to join they had to provide additional collateral, similar in type to the collateral they had already provided. Some slaves were told that they had to collateralize all aspects of their lives, including signing over any assets, disclaiming their faith, and doing things that would ruin their careers and relationships if the collateral were released. DOS slaves understood that if they left DOS, spoke publicly about DOS, or repeatedly failed DOS obligations or assignments, their collateral could be released."

Slaves were required to perform "acts of care" for their masters from cleaning their homes, bringing coffee and making lunch. They were also given assignments to have sex with Raniere, who was highest master within DOS.

"Many of the DOS victims were branded in their pubic regions with a cauterizing pen in a process that took twenty to thirty minutes. During the branding "ceremonies," slaves were required to be fully naked, and the master would order one slave to film while the others held down the slave being branded. Some DOS victims were told that the brand stood for the four elements (the lines represented air, earth and water and the cauterizing pen represented sealing with fire). Based on information obtained during the course of the investigation, however, it is clear that the brand in fact consisted of RANIERE's initials. After defections, discussed below in paragraph 33, RANIERE acknowledged to one DOS victim that his initials are incorporated into the brand as a form of 'tribute.' "

In May 2017, a DOS slave, who was also a high-ranking member of NXIVM defected and told her story in the media. Another woman, called Jane Doe 1 in the federal complaint, wanted to defect as well but other DOS members, referred to as CC-1 and CC-2 (co-conspirators), intervened.

"...because other DOS members had left without having had (to Jane Doe 1's knowledge) their collateral released, Jane Doe 1 began to believe she might also be able to leave without having her collateral released. When she told CC-1 and CC-2 that she was leaving DOS, they engaged in a two-hour "intervention," during which Jane Doe 1 was berated for leaving. Throughout the conversation, Jane Doe 1 sought assurances about her collateral. Although CC-1 and CC-2 never directly said her collateral would not be released, she felt assured enough that as long as she did not speak out about DOS (as opposed to just breaking her lifetime commitment), her collateral would not be released. After the intervention, RANIERE met Jane Doe 1 and told her she needed to return the money he had previously given her."

NXIVM had many requirements for its members, including large payments toward Raniere's annual birthday week celebration, according to the document.

RANIERE is referred to as "The Vanguard" by Nxians. Every year in August, Nxians pay $2,000 or more to gather in Silver Bay, New York to celebrate "Vanguard Week" in honor of RANIERE, whose birthday is August 26, 1960.